By Kimberley State, PR & Social Media Executive
Social media is now a vital tool for businesses to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive engagement. Among the many features offered by social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, Stories are a great way for businesses to enhance their online presence.
Millions of users engage with their Stories feed daily, this increases the potential for brands to capture attention and communicate directly with their followers.
Organisations from any sector can use the power of Stories on Instagram and Facebook, either through in-app features, scheduling tools, or by engaging with a PR agency like ours to manage your social media effectively.
- Brand Representation
One of the key advantages of using Instagram and Facebook Stories is the ability to represent your brand. Stories are an extension of your brand’s voice, allowing you to connect with your audience in a more personal and immediate way. Whether you’re showcasing behind-the-scenes content, sharing customer testimonials, or highlighting new products, every story should align with your brand’s identity.
For small businesses, maintaining a cohesive brand image across all social media platforms can be challenging, especially without a dedicated team to produce consistent content. This is where an outside organisation or PR partner can add significant value by ensuring that your Stories are regular and resonate with your audience. Gaining an external perspective can help you find a narrative that helps to reinforce your brand’s messaging, making your Stories a true reflection of you and your business.
- Visibility
One of the most powerful aspects of Instagram and Facebook Stories is their placement at the very top of your newsfeed. This placement means your content is more likely to be seen by your followers, making it an ideal way to share temporary content or promote key updates. Unlike regular posts, Stories are designed to grab attention immediately, making them perfect for time-sensitive announcements or promotions.
Stories disappear after 24 hours, which creates a sense of urgency, encouraging users to engage with your content before it’s gone. This can be particularly effective for promoting offers, events, or flash sales. Planning and sharing your Stories can maximise the impact of your news and capture the attention of your online community.
- Re-use content with ‘Highlights’
While Stories only last 24 hours, Instagram has a feature that allows you to extend their lifespan: Highlights. By saving your Stories to your Highlights, you can create a collection of content that remains accessible at the top of your profile. This is a great way to repurpose content that is important to your audience or showcase all your services at a glance.
Highlights should be used to organise your Stories into categories such as ‘Services’, ‘Testimonials’, ‘Tutorials’, or ‘Events’, making it easier for your followers to find relevant content. This is especially useful for businesses that have a range of services or news updates they want to keep at the top of their profile.
- Navigating Algorithms
Algorithms can make it challenging for businesses to achieve organic reach with regular posts. However, Stories offer a unique advantage as they are displayed prominently at the top of the newsfeed, they bypass some of the restrictions that might limit other types of content.
By regularly using Stories, you can maintain a presence in your followers newsfeeds without being subject to the same limitations that apply to traditional posts. This makes Stories a great tool for keeping your brand visible to your audience.
- Creative Content & CTA
The possibilities with Stories are endless. You can experiment with different features from adding stickers, polls, and GIFs to incorporating text, links, and animation. Stories provide a blank canvas for your brand’s creativity.
Including a call to action (CTA) in your Stories is a smart way to guide your audience towards taking the next step. This could be a click to visit your website, signing up for a newsletter, or calling to find out more about your services. The interactive elements available on these platforms make it easy to create engaging and visually appealing content.
If you’re still unsure of where to start, you might want to hire or train someone to manage your social media. Think about who you would trust your brand’s reputation with and engage with a specialist agency or consultant for guidance and support.
Instagram and Facebook Stories offer businesses a powerful way to connect with their audience, promote their brand, and drive engagement. Whether you want to represent your brand consistently, boost visibility or need to more create content for your social media channels.
Want to know more about how Goldings Communications can ensure that your Stories are not only well-crafted, but also strategically aligned with your overall objectives? Let us help you to harness the power of Stories and make your social media presence shine. Get in touch.
